Question:
1)
On which side should the mezuza be placed on a back door that opens into a garden?
Introduction: The Gemoro in Menochos (34a) tells us that a mezuza has to be placed on the right of the entrance, when entering. This Gemoro is ruled in Shulchan Aruch (Yoreh De’ah Siman 289 se’if
2).
Earlier, the Gemoro in Menochos (33a) quotes Rav Yehuda in the name of Shmuel who says that regarding mezuza, “heker tzir” determines the placement of the mezuza. According to Rashi (ibid) this means that if there exists within a house a dividing wall, and both rooms (on either side of the divide) contain a door that opens into the street, and the dividing wall contains a door that connects the two rooms, the positioning of the hinges of the door will determine on which doorpost (contained within the dividing wall) the mezuza should be placed:
I.e. by definition the door opens towards the side on which the hinges are fixed, thus the room that contains the hinges is considered the main or more dominant of the two rooms, and the mezuza should be placed on the right when entering this room.
The Tur (Yoreh De’ah Siman 289 [3]) rules that when there is a door in between two rooms and it is unclear which direction is considered “entering” and which “exiting” then heker tzir determines on which doorpost the mezuza should be placed.
The Beis Yosef [se’if 3] quotes a Mordechai who writes that heker tzir is only the deciding factor when both rooms are equally dominant [in their usage and] both open into the public domain. If this is not the case, writes the Mordechai [i.e. one of the rooms is clearly more dominant than the other] then heker tzir is inconsequential in determining where the mezuza should be placed; rather it should be placed on the right of the more dominant room.
The Shulchan Aruch (Yoreh De’ah Siman 289 se’if 3) writes that if there exists within a house a dividing wall, and both rooms (on either side of the divide) contain a door that opens into the street, and the dividing wall contains a door that connects the two rooms, heker tzir will determine on which side of the door (contained within the dividing wall) the mezuza should be placed.
Discussion:
The first of the Poskim to clearly discuss a doorway connecting a house to a courtyard is the Maharil (quoted in the Beis Yosef Yoreh De’ah Siman 289): The Maharil writes that if the courtyard contains another entrance besides the entrance to the house (e.g. the courtyard opens to the street) heker tzir will determine on which side the mezuza should be placed. However, if the courtyard is closed off to the street, and the only entrance to the courtyard is via the house, then the courtyard is considered like a [standard] room of the house, and requires a mezuza on the right of the entrance when entering from house to courtyard.
The Taz (Yoreh De’ah Siman 289 s.k. 4) quotes the Maharil, and from context it is clear that the Taz rules like the Maharil.
The Beis Me’ir however, follows the position of the Mordechai and maintains that the mezuza is affixed depending on dominancy; i.e. in this situation of a door that connects a house to a courtyard, since the house is the main residence compared to the courtyard, the mezuza is affixed on the right of the entrance when entering from the courtyard to the house, since the house is the more dominant usage of the two. This is irrespective of whether the courtyard has also another entrance to the street or not.
The Chazon Ish (Yoreh De’ah Siman 168) also maintains that the mezuza is always fixed on the right of the entrance while entering the house; irrespective of whether the courtyard (or balcony) can only be accessed via the house or not. One of the reasons given by the Chazon Ish for this is because the courtyard is not itself obligated in mezuza; and the adjacent door only requires a mezuza because of the house. The Chazon Ish (ibid) also clearly writes that a balcony has the same status as a courtyard regarding the placement of a mezuza.
Rav Ya’akov Blau in his sefer Chovas Hador (Perek 8, item 3 and footnote 6) writes that the predominant minhag is in line with the Shulchan Aruch that a courtyard is obligated itself in mezuza, therefore regarding a courtyard or balcony that is closed off to the street (i.e. can only be accessed via the house) the mezuza should be affixed on the right when entering the courtyard (unlike the Chazon Ish). (He deliberates what the din is in a situation where the courtyard or balcony do not contain the area of 4 amos squared.)
Conclusion: A back door between a house and garden requires a mezuza. There is considerable discussion and debate among the Poskim as to whether the mezuza should be placed on the right when entering the garden (Chovas Hador – Rav Ya’akov Blau) or on the right when entering the house (Beis Meir, Chazon Ish).
Although it is difficult to give a clear ruling, the minhag appears to be to affix the mezuza on the right when entering the garden (and this is the conclusion of Rav Ya’akov Blau in his sefer Chovas Hador). |